Upon Brazil's return home after being knocked out of the World Cup at the
quarter-final stage, their team bus was pelted with stones and eggs by angry supporters.
The scenes said much about the national mood in the wake of the Selecao's 2-1 defeat to Belgium, particularly after they had headed into the tournament as the favourites with many bookmakers.
Four years on from the 7-1 humiliation against Germany, this summer was supposed to be an opportunity for further redemption, building on a gold medal at the Olympics in 2016.
Instead, the five-time winners' untimely exit has prompted fiercer anger than ever, with Neymar receiving the brunt of it.
According to Swiss broadcaster RTS, per FourFourTwo, the €222million forward spent a total of 14 minutes on the floor over the course of his side's five games.
The low point came against Mexico, when the PSG superstar completely overreacted to a minor stamp from Miguel Layun.
What is more, the general consensus was that in spite of his two goals and one assist, he simply did not do enough on the biggest stage of them all.
Brazil legend Ronaldo, who scored 62 goals for his country and won two World Cups along the way, has admitted he was disappointed with the 26-year-old's overall contribution.
Brazil expected more
"We expected more from him because he's the team's star," Ronaldo explained in an interview with Sport TV, quoted via Marca.
"I don't know if it was the foot operation or something else, but I felt we was limited by something.
"He's still young, very talented and has a lot of responsibility on his shoulders, but he has to learn."
However, the 2002 Golden Boot winner admitted he had some sympathy with the former Barcelona man over his alleged diving, and revealed they had spoken about the reasons behind it in the past.
"I asked him five years ago and he explained that on many occasions when he's kicked he reacts in that way so that the blow isn't greater," he added.
"That also happened to me, I felt that I was treated unfairly when I was kicked and they wouldn't blow the whistle.
"Neymar has to control his emotions better during the matches. He risks too much looking for yellow cards, he needs to take more advantage of his negative energy and be a little evil."
It's certainly true that Neymar is often brutalised by his opponents as it's very difficult to stop him otherwise.
A line was seemingly crossed out in Russia nonetheless and football fans everywhere will hope he learns from it when he returns to domestic duty for the coming season.
Did Neymar do enough at the World Cup? Have your say in the comments.